The Venice Film Festival may have lost all of its credibility now that the words “'My Bloody Valentine 3-D' is competing at Venice” can be uttered truthfully. When it was first announced a few weeks ago that the fest would feature a new 3-D award starting this year, I thought that perhaps world cinema was getting on board with the format. Apparently it’s not quite so -- at least not yet -- as today we learn that all nine films competing for the prize are from the U.S.

The strange thing is that America isn’t the only place making 3-D films. In fact, two international films are being shown in the format at the Venice Film Festival. Italian filmmakers David Zamagni and Nadia Ranocchi have new 3-D films (“Daimon” and “Cock-Crow,” respectively) screening in the festival’s lineup this year. Ranocchi couldn’t have been eligible, of course, because she’s on the jury for the Persol 3-D Award, along with U.S. critics Dave Kehr and Scott Foundas. She’s also worked with Zamagni in the past, so maybe there would have been some issue there.

It’s pretty disappointing that there aren’t any non-U.S. films in the running for the award, and it’s certainly embarrassing that so many bad movies are represented instead. I’d be much more excited about Joe Dante (“Gremlins”) being nominated if he wasn’t in the company of “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.” Anyway, it’s really only down to “Up and “Coraline” as serious contenders.

Which film do you think will win the Persol 3-D Award? Are you upset or embarrassed about the nominees?